Hreflang Checker
Free · 30 Seconds · Instant Results
Automatically audit your hreflang implementation. Detect missing x-default tags, wrong locale codes, asymmetric pairs, and 6 other critical international SEO issues.
🔍 Check My Site for Free →No sign-up · Works with Shopify, WordPress & any site
What Hreflang Issues Do We Check?
The SEO Radar X free tool scans your hreflang implementation and checks for these 6 critical error types:
No fallback page specified for users whose language matches nothing — Google doesn't know which version to show.
Using "cn" or "zh" instead of the correct "zh-CN" causes Google to ignore the tag entirely.
Page A links to page B, but page B doesn't link back to page A — the entire hreflang group becomes invalid.
Hreflang tags pointing to 404s or redirected URLs are ignored by Google, breaking your international targeting.
Every page must include an hreflang tag pointing to itself — missing this invalidates the whole hreflang group.
Mixing http/https or www/non-www makes Google treat them as different pages, splitting your ranking signals.
How Do Hreflang Tags Work?
Hreflang tags are <link> elements placed in the HTML <head> that tell Google the relationship between different language/region versions of the same page. Each hreflang tag contains two key attributes:
The critical rule: hreflang tags must be reciprocal — every referenced page must also point back to your page. This means if your English page references your Chinese page, the Chinese page must also contain hreflang tags pointing back to the English page.
Hreflang for Shopify & WordPress Stores
Shopify
- ✓Add hreflang tags in theme.liquid inside the <head> section
- ✓Shopify Markets auto-generates some hreflang tags
- ✓Still manually check that x-default is correctly set
- ✓Note: Shopify language paths are typically /zh-CN/ not /zh/
WordPress
- ✓Use Yoast SEO or Rank Math to auto-handle hreflang
- ✓WPML plugin provides full multilingual + hreflang support
- ✓Polylang is a lighter multilingual alternative
- ✓Still audit after setup — plugin misconfiguration is common
Audit Your Hreflang Setup Now
SEO Radar X runs 30 checks including full hreflang analysis — x-default, locale codes, reciprocal pairs & more. Results in 30 seconds.
Run Free Hreflang Audit →Frequently Asked Questions
What is an hreflang tag?
Hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells Google which language and region a page targets. It helps search engines serve the correct language version to the right users and prevents duplicate content issues across international versions.
Why does hreflang matter for international stores?
If your Shopify or WordPress store targets multiple language markets (e.g., English and Chinese), incorrect hreflang setup causes Google to show the wrong language to users — destroying conversion rates and SEO rankings.
What is x-default in hreflang?
x-default is a special hreflang value that specifies which page version to show when no other hreflang value matches the user's language/region. Example: <link rel="alternate" hreflang="x-default" href="https://example.com/en/" />
What are the most common hreflang errors?
The most common mistakes include: missing x-default tag, wrong locale code format (e.g., "cn" instead of "zh-CN"), asymmetric tag pairs (page A points to B but B doesn't point back to A), and pointing to non-existent or redirected URLs.
How do I fix hreflang errors?
Use the SEO Radar X free audit tool to detect all hreflang issues in 30 seconds. For Shopify, add hreflang tags in theme.liquid. For WordPress, use plugins like Yoast SEO or Polylang that handle hreflang automatically.